What Makes a Home
by Arytra
Summary: Oneshot, part of the Power Mentors series.  Conner and Neen discuss her time on Aquitar and on Earth, giving some of Neen's history on her mother's planet and a scene from her time on Earth as well.


Disclaimer: Power Rangers are not mine. They belong to Saban and Disney. The only character that is mine is Neen.

Author's Note: This oneshot is for pureangel86 who asked me for a story with Neen's back history or day to day life. Well, this is the best I could do. It's part of the _Power Mentors_ universe, so if you haven't read that story, you'll probably be lost for this one. This takes place before Billy decides to move back, but after Neen shows up.

**What Makes a Home**

"Hey, Kid, whatcha doing?" Conner asked as he flopped himself down next to the six-year-old girl before him. She had taken off the necklace that doubled as a holographic disguiser so that her Aquitian side didn't show up. Her hair was down instead of in her usual ponytail and his outlined her Aquitian heritage. She glanced up at the older boy and blinked a few times before answering.

"I am looking over pictures. Where are Ethan and Kira?" She asked. Conner shrugged.

"Kira's at practice for Friday and Ethan's helping Hayley and your dad. What sort of pictures?" He asked and she pointed. Instead of a normal picture album, it was a computer with various holographic images that showed up. Like a video camera, the pictures moved, but not too much. For instance, there was waving or moving in place but not much more. "Pictures of your home, huh?"

"Yes," she answered. "This was where we used to live. Mama, Papa, and I. I do not remember Mama, but these pictures were given to me to help me learn about her. I do know I miss her even if I do not remember her. Is that un… weird?"

"Nah, it's natural," he answered. Neen looked at him.

"Your parents are deceased?" She asked and Conner nodded.

"No," he told her. "You feel that way about it because I guess there's a part of you that remembers her even if it's not conscious. At least, that's what Ethan said. Does that make sense?"

"Aff… Yeah," she answered. He was quiet for a minute before he said anything else.

"So, you used to live there, huh? Who's that?"

"Cestro. He is my uncle," she answered. "He took care of me while Papa was busy. Conner, is it wrong to want to be somewhere other than home?"

He paused for a moment at the question. "What do you mean, Neen?"

"I have lived on Aquitar my entire life. I have lived here for less than a year. Is it wrong for me to want to live here?" She asked. Conner tried not to look uncomfortable, but his face showed it. "Is this a bad question?"

"No, it's fine. I, uh, have you talked to your dad about it?" He asked and she paused.

"No. I do not desire to distress him," she answered. "And Hayley and Papa always start fighting whenever Hayley mentions that she wants us to stay here longer."

"Yeah, I know," Conner answered. "That's just 'cause Hayley likes you guys."

"I like Hayley too. She tells good stories and makes good drinks," Neen decided. "I do not like it when they fight."

"Trust me, Neen, none of us do. Look, adults think they're smarter, but sometimes, they're just really dumb about some stuff. They don't mean to make you sad, you know?" Conner asked and Neen nodded.

"Yes, I know. Humans are very emotional," she answered. Conner looked a little worried about that.

"Hey Neen? I might not be your dad or Hayley or really any sort of responsible adult, but maybe you should tell me why you want to move here anyway," he said and she turned off the photo album before surprising him by curling up in his lap. He shrugged it off and waited for her to begin.

_Aquitians were definitely a calm, understanding, and open minded people. Like any people, they had their own bad apples that showed up every now and then, but they were, in general, a peace-loving society. There were few, if any, protests about union between Cestra and William which would have been a different story had it been on earth. Through compromise, the couple had been able to figure out which Earth customs they wished to participate in and which they did not. Cake during a birthday, for instance, was one that they had tried for and failed with since it tasted too soggy even with the substituted ingredients, not to mention that Billy still wasn't an amazing cook._

_The birth of Trinine had been a time of great happiness for the couple and their friends. Considering how Billy was, no one had truly given it another thought that the child would truly be different from her Aquitian brethren. They had forgotten the human side of her might not be as calm or patient and even as a baby, she'd surprised her mother. She was energetic, yet easily frustrated compared to other Aquitian offspring. Billy had noted more than once that she was a true mix of her heritages._

_With Cestria's death, Billy was left alone with a small child while still trying to do various other duties including those he had promised to the other Rangers. The other Aquitians had offered help after rebuilding their homeland and Neen had gotten several new caretakers as her father roamed the cosmos in search of power for the other Rangers. Yet, with various caretakers came various opinions and Neen may have been young, but she could hear them. The two with the largest opinions were Tideus and Cestro, both of whom loved her dearly and cared for her well-being. That said, doing what was right for Neen was a constant source of argumentation for the duo with Neen often overheard._

_"I am not saying that she is a bad child," Tideus stated. "Only that she is extremely energetic."_

_"She is half-human," Cestro reminded his friend as he finished preparing dinner for the little girl. While they helped each other out, primary caretaking tended to fall to Cestro most likely because he was Cestria's brother. Tideus was taking his day to help, but the yellow Ranger couldn't help but to mention the differences that he'd noticed in Neen for a while now._

_"Yes, but I think we all expected her to be more like her father," he answered. "He's so quiet and calm yet his daughter…"_

_"Is more like the other Rangers when they were temporary children," Cestro answered. "Or the other children in general. She is quiet compared to them."_

_"Cestro, Trinine is having trouble with the other children. She cannot keep up with them when they swim, she needs air more frequently, her abilities are lowered compared to ours," Tideus answered. "We must attend to these issues or she will be left behind."_

_"I cannot do anything about it," Cestro answered, sounding more worn-out than he had in a while. While Billy wouldn't be able to see as much of a difference being human, he'd noticed the same issues that Tideus had whether he wanted to admit it or not. "None of the other children have given her problems about it either."_

_"And they will not," Tideus answered. "But they will not close their own abilities to make sure feel normal either. It is not fair to them and eventually she will notice."_

_Neen stayed out of sight in the doorway, clinging to her stuffed triceratops that her father had had made for her before she was born. It was the only one on the planet since they had not had dinosaurs on Aquitar. She listened to the two men quietly argue the points of her difference. Neen wasn't a stupid girl. She knew she was different and Tideus didn't know it, but she'd noticed that she wasn't able to keep up with the others. Her telekinetic and telepathic abilities were dim compared to her playmates. She was slower and less able than the others with swimming and was often left behind before they realized she was missing._

Conner reached over and put his arm around her as she grabbed Ranger, the same stuffed Triceratops she'd spoke of. "You know, they probably didn't want you to overhear," he offered and Neen nodded.

"I know," she answered. "But it is true. Compared to humans, I have many powers, but not compared to other Aquitians."

"So, getting to go somewhere where you weren't the bottom of your class was sort of a relief, huh?" He asked. "Even if it was here?"

"Affirmative," she answered. "Yet, I was not expecting how much I would be wanted here."

_"You heard Billy! We're not supposed to teach her that!" Kira said, hands on her hips. Both Ethan and Conner, having one of their rare gang up on Kira moments, looked at her pleadingly._

_"Come on, Kira. He didn't want us teaching her slang either and that didn't work," Conner pleaded. Ethan looked just as pathetic as their yellow companion threw her arms up._

_"Fine, but when Billy goes on the warpath, I'm throwing the two of you in front," she snapped, folding her arms. Conner and Ethan grinned and went to find their younger companion._

_"Hey! Neen!" Ethan called. The young girl came out into the open and looked at him expectantly. "How would you like to learn how to play Raptorball?"_

_The girl's eyes sparkled with interest before it died down. "Papa says I'm too young."_

_Conner grinned and put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, you are a little young to ride Black, but your Dad didn't say you couldn't learn how to ride, did he?"_

_"No. He just said 'No Raptorball'," she answered, confused at why Conner's grin increased._

_"Exactly. Now, Raptorball is a complex sport with many different rules, right? And it can get kind of violent out there. Like… soccer or basketball. Remember when you wanted me to teach you those games and I wouldn't let you run off and join the game because there were basics? Well, same applies here. So, we'll teach you to ride, we'll teach you to catch the ball, we'll teach you the rules, and then we'll drive your dad nuts until he agrees to let you play a nice, calm game of Raptorball," Conner answered and Neen looked a little confused._

_"So, we are not going against Papa's rules of 'No Raptorball' because we are not technically playing the game?" Neen asked slowly and Conner nodded. "Okay!"_

_"Great. She's going to be like you and Conner," Kira muttered and Ethan elbowed her gently with a grin._

_"Lighten up, Kira," he answered. "Come on, before Conner gets all the fun."_

_They did use Blue as she was the only raptor who would be completely careful with the child. The raptor waited patiently as they helped the small girl onto her back and Blue made sure to see that the girl was hanging on before she moved. All three of the teens stayed by to make sure that Neen wouldn't fall off. The child squealed in delight at the trio's version of a pony ride. By the end of it, all of them were tired and Blue waited until the child was off before heading toward the rest of her pack for a well-earned break._

_"We'll teach you more tomorrow," Ethan decided as he sat down. The only one who wasn't as tired was Conner and Ethan guessed that had something to do with super speed._

_"Ethan, Conner, Kira?" Neen asked and they all looked at her. "You could have gotten in trouble for teaching me. You still could. I have seen all of you shrink away when Aunt Kimberly and Uncle Tommy are angry. Why did you risk it?"_

_Conner shrugged. "We saw the way you wanted to join in. I mean, you were really eager."_

_"So?" She asked._

_"So, we thought we'd help you out," Ethan said with a shrug. "I mean, they left us in charge of you. Why not?"  
_

_"Because you could get into trouble," Neen reminded him. Kira smiled and pulled the girl onto the log beside her._

_"It doesn't matter. Conner finds lots of ways to get us into trouble," she answered. "We just wanted you to feel like one of the gang."_

_At Neen's confusion, Conner took over. "Neen, you're supposed to help out family. And that's what we are. Family."_

Conner halfway winced at that memory. Kim and Tommy hadn't been quite as happy with the three of them as they were with themselves. He was pretty sure he still have the bumps and bruises to prove it after _that_ training session. "And we're hoping you learned a valuable lesson from that."

"Do not try to go around the rules?" She asked and Conner nodded.

"At least don't get caught," he answered. "And it wasn't that big of a deal, you know."

"Conner, you made me feel important. You risked much for me. How is that not a big deal?" She asked, completely confused. Conner looked a little nervous and embarrassed, but pulled himself together quickly enough.

"Well, like I said. We're family, right? You're like our little sister or cousin or something," Conner answered, not quite sure how to put it into words. "I mean, Kira loves showing you how to play the guitar, Ethan's thrilled to have someone to play video games with, and I like having a partner for sports."

"But I lose at video games, have little skill at the guitar, and am too small to be a challenge for sports," she reminded him. Conner thought about it for a minute.

"Do you remember when you first asked me if you could learn how to play soccer and I sort of kicked it wrong and broke the window?" He asked and she nodded.

"A… Yeah. We spent several days mowing lawns to make up for breaking it," she answered and Conner nodded.

"Well, a lot of my soccer buddies would have ditched. They wouldn't have even thought about helping me pay for it. Especially because it was Doctor O's window. But you didn't ditch me. You helped," he answered and Neen nodded.

"I understand. It is a trade off. You assist me in learning and I assist you when something goes wrong," she answered and he paused.

"Sort of. You remember how you said that the other Aquitians weren't mean, but they left you behind because you were slower? That's like my soccer buddies. They're not overly mean to me, but they're not willing to help me out either. You and I are friends because we're willing to help each other," he answered. "Like Cestro and Tideus watching you when your dad was gone. They didn't have to, but they did anyway."

She nodded at that. "I think I understand now," she answered. "Conner?"

"Yeah, Neen?" He asked looking at her. She smiled up at him.

"Thank you for being a patient big brother," she answered. He shrugged and turned as red as his shirt.

"No worries, Neen. You want to keep looking over the album?" He asked, trying to get the attention away from him. She nodded, picking it up while shuffling Ranger to her side so that she could help hold it. When Billy and Hayley returned later, they were a little surprised to see the two of them fast asleep on the couch with the album opened to the last page: One of the entire gang taken after they had gotten back from the Power Chamber. Both adults just smiled.


End file.
